This is Democracy

Jeremi speaks with Richard R. John about the role that the post office has served American Democracy Zachary sets the scene with his poem, ” Delivering Freedom, Save the Post Office.” Richard R. John is a professor of history and communications at Columbia University, where he teaches in the Ph. D. program in communications at the Columbia School of Journalism. He teaches courses in the history of communications since 1450, networks, and the history of capitalism. His publications include Network Nation: Inventing American Telecommunications (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2010; paperback, 2015 forthcoming) and Spreading the News: The American Postal System from Franklin to Morse (Harvard University Press, 1995; paperback, 1998).  

Jeremi talks with Ken Greenberg about urban planning and cities. They touch on various topics including the power within cities and the difficulties faced during and after a pandemic. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, “Actualizing Emerald City.” Ken Greenberg is an urban designer, teacher, writer, and former Director of Urban Design and Architecture for the City of Toronto. For over four decades he has played a pivotal role on public and private assignments in urban settings throughout North America and Europe. He is the author of two influential books: Walking Home: The Life and Lessons of a City Builder and Toronto Reborn: Design Successes and Challenges. You can read more about his work at: https://www.kengreenberg.ca. See also, “Density Done Right:” https://www.citybuildinginstitute.ca/portfolio/density-done-right/.

Jeremi and Yong Suk Lee discuss North Korea and its relationship with the United States. Zachary presents his scene-setting poem, “Painting Ourselves Green.” Yong Suk Lee is an East Asia specialist with 22 years of service in the Central Intelligence Agency. Mr. Lee started his career in 1997 as an analyst and served in multiple leadership roles as a Senior Intelligence Service officer, including as a briefer on the President’s Daily Briefing staff from 2007 to 2009. His last assignment was as CIA’s Deputy Assistant Director for the Korea Mission Center from 2017 to 2019.

Jeremi meets with Dr. Peniel Joseph to discuss the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on minority communities and how the virus exposes the racial disparities that society has yet to face. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, “Since ’65.” Peniel Joseph holds a joint professorship appointment at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the History Department in the College of Liberal Arts and is Barbara Jordan Chair in Ethics and Political Values at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also the founding director of the LBJ School’s Center for the Study of Race and Democracy.

Jeremi meets with Dr. Gordon H. “Nick” Mueller and Dr. Robert Citino to discuss lessons and legacies on the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, “And to Dust, We Shall Return.” Dr. Gordon H. “Nick” Mueller is a distinguished historian and former Vice-Chancellor at the University of New Orleans. He was the Founding President and CEO of the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. Dr. Robert Citino is Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, and the Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian at the National WWII Museum. Dr. Citino is an award-winning military historian and scholar who has published ten books including: The Wehrmacht Retreats: Fighting a Lost War; Death of the Wehrmacht: The German Campaigns of 1942; and The German Way of War: From the Thirty Years’ War to the Third Reich.

Jeremi talks with Sheena Greitens about US and China relations in regards to how China’s surveillance technologies, open market, and patriotic nationalism influence foreign policy today. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, “A Superpower Scorned.” Sheena Chestnut Greitens will join the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin in August 2020. She is also a non-resident senior fellow at Brookings Institution, an affiliate with the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and a member of the Digital Freedom Forum at the Center for a New American Security. Prior to joining UT, she was an assistant professor of political science at the University of Missouri. Her work focuses on American national security, East Asia, and authoritarian politics and foreign policy, with special emphasis on China and the Korean peninsula.

Jeremi talks with Samuel J. Abrams about his new article, and how his research is pointing to a camaraderie across multiple generations of Americans against the pandemic. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, “Noticing Each Other.” Samuel J. Abrams is a professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Most recently, he is the author of a widely-read article: “Americans Are Not as Divided About the Pandemic as It Seems” in THE DISPATCH: https://thedispatch.com/p/americans-are-not-as-divided-about.

Jeremi meets with Lawrence Wright to discuss the parallels between the pandemic and his new book. They also find an inspired, positive perspective on how the youth can see this situation as a moment for monumental change. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, “Where did the books go?” Lawrence Wright is one of the leading writers in America today, and the author of a major new novel about a pandemic, THE END OF OCTOBER. He is a staff writer for The New Yorker, a playwright, a screenwriter, a musician, and the author of ten books of nonfiction, including The Looming Tower, Going Clear, and God Save Texas, and one previous novel, God’s Favorite. His books have received many honors, including a Pulitzer Prize for The Looming Tower. He and his wife are longtime residents of Austin, Texas, where Lawrence plays in a local band, WhoDo.

Jeremi sits down with Dr. Stephen M. Sonnenberg to discuss how to deal with and maintain mental health in unprecedented times. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, “For the Healers.” Dr. Stephen M. Sonnenberg is a Professor of Psychiatry at the Dell Medical School and a Professor of Instruction at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work and the School of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He is director of the Humanities, Health Care, and Advocacy Track and Fellow of the Frank M. and Dorothy H. Conklin Endowment for Medical Ethics in the Plan II Honors Program within the UT College of Liberal Arts.

Jeremi sits down with Abraham Newman and Henry Farrell to talk about the effects of COVID-19 on our global world and how it will potentially change our democracy. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, “Linked.” Abraham Newman is Professor of Government in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.  He is the Director of the Mortara Center for International Studies. His research focuses on the politics generated by globalization. Abraham Newman co-authored, most recently: Of Privacy and Power: The Transatlantic Struggle over Freedom and Security (with Henry Farrell) and Voluntary Disruptions: International Soft Law, Finance and Power (with Elliot Posner.) Henry Farrell is professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, and Editor in Chief of the Monkey Cage blog at the Washington Post. He works on a variety of topics, including democracy, the politics of the Internet and international and comparative political economy. He has written two books, The Political Economy of Trust: Interests, Institutions and Inter-Firm Cooperation and Of Privacy and Power: The Transatlantic Fight over Freedom and Security (with Abraham Newman.)